Russian pop singer/producer Philipp Kirkorov has pulled out of the professional Eurovision jury because of his friends taking part in the music contest.

Kirkorov’s press release says that the show-biz star is good friends with several participants of Eurovision, such as sexy singer from Greece Sakis Rouvas, which, according to Kirkorov, could raise doubts in some countries and participants about the objectivity of the Russian jury.

“Of course, me and my colleagues realize that when a professional gives points to contestants, his personal preferences are insignificant. However, I cannot let a single possibility of doubt of the objectivity of the professional Russian jury and therefore I’ve made a decision to pull out of it. It’ll give me a chance to be more expressing in my opinion and communicating with the contestants from different countries which for me, as a fan of Eurovision, an artist and a producer, is very important,” Kirkorov explained.